Locked On
by RobotArmsApts
Summary: A variety of works that will be Prompto centric with a friendship focus. Chapter One: Over a short amount of time work trips took longer, home-visits were less frequent and apologies for absences were done on texts left for him to read or briefly on the phone, and oh, weren't they proud to have such a responsible son they could trust to be left alone?


Writing prompt: " _I just want to be liked and I want to have friends, is that so bad?_ "

From witterprompts dot tumblr dot com

This batch: witterprompts dot tumblr dot com/post/165588114987/nothing-gets-my-heart-racing-like-realizing-i

That is one of the best prompt blogs on tumblr. I love it.

Little Prompto breaks my heart every time.  
Disclaimer: I own the writing but not the characters or game they're from.  
Cross posted to dA and Ao3.

* * *

"I'm home." The child announced flatly, knowing good and well from the lack of lights and empty driveway that neither of his parents had not suddenly returned early from their work trip, no matter how badly Prompto wanted them to be back, however briefly it would be. The greeting had been done in their home for as far back as he could remember. Prompto could still hear his mother's voice announcing she was home while he was upstairs doing his homework, only to drop it and dart downstairs excitedly to run up and hug her leg, declaring how much he missed her with a beaming smile. His father would ruffle his hair and everything felt okay for a little bit. Felt normal, like how a family was supposed to be.

Over a short amount of time work trips took longer, home-visits were less frequent and apologies for absences were done on texts left for him to read or briefly on the phone, and oh, weren't they proud to have such a responsible son they could trust to be left alone?

The happier times felt like a lifetime ago and without much else to do, the child adjusted and kept on going as best he could, no matter how lonely it was.

Prompto put his shoes into the cubby near the front door, flipped on the light and turned on the television; not looking for anything in particular to watch, just not able to handle the too quiet of the house that evening.

He dropped his backpack beside his usual chair at the table and set up his takeout dinner from the local burger joint. It was good food, he knew that well, but it was one of the days where the quiet of the house pressed too hard on him, making wanting to eat difficult. His heart was aching for the presence of his parents, friends he didn't have, even a pet would have been great right now. He had always been fond of dogs. Maybe one of these days his folks would let him have one? It was a nice thought to entertain on better days, but...

Tonight, instead, he got his intrusive thoughts and the skin under his wristband feeling like it was burning. It always lead back to that, didn't it?

His parents warned him numerous times over the years to make sure, above everything else, to keep his tattoo covered. They didn't care, but other people in Lucis might not think the same, especially with how obvious it was he wasn't one of them. Not a born Lucian and there was no hiding that. The blond entertained the thought on far more than one occasion that was why he was lacking in the friend department, but squashed it as best he could. None of his classmates were mean to him, just left him alone and he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to talk to them outside of what was required for school.

The boy tried in the beginning, he really did, but nerves and fear over messing up won out. And what if they accidentally saw under the wristband? It was too nerve-wracking to think about further.

Reaching down to his backpack, Prompto retrieved the one thing that he had to help keep himself going. One of the few things he treasured dearly. His camera.

It had been a gift from his parents sometime ago, before one of their many trips after expressing interest in the hobby. He'd been given cheerful instructions to takes lots of photos to show them when they got back. Their interest had waned in that rather quickly when their work trips became more frequent. The child cherished the camera all the same.

Looking through the small screen, Prompto began looking through his photos for the day.

A few were ones of dogs and their owners that he had gotten permission to take in the park- he liked those best. He got to pet their dogs and the owners were nice enough to him. A few others were of flowers, taken just so, and he appreciated how the lighting looked on those today. The sun had been bright, making some of the nature shots shine.

While picking what to keep and delete, he stopped on another photo he had taken in the park after school earlier that day. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just a small group of kids his age playing off in the distance, smiling big while brushing off dirt from their clothes and faces. A couple of other kids were laughing at the dirty ones, but not in a cruel sort of way. It was a normalcy he yearned for more than anything. What would it be like, he often wondered, to have people to laugh with like that? To spend time with? To be included because even one other person wanted him to be there? The entire idea that someone would want him around because he was himself seemed so faraway now, it was almost dizzying to try and wrap his mind around it.

"I just want to be liked and I want to have friends, is that so bad?" The young blond questioned, knowing there would be no answer as usual. Feeling a familiar sting to his eyes when these thoughts were dwelt on for too long, he bit his lip and took off his glasses so he could wipe his eyes to relieve some of the sensation.

His parents were people that were supposed to love and want to be there with him, but if he couldn't even keep them around, what hope did he have of someone else that didn't know him?

' _It's just a bad night, yeah_.' That's all it was. Tomorrow would hold the same routine, but at least it was closer to the weekend when his parents were due back.

Prompto tried to keep convincing himself of more positive things after deleting the photo of the kids in the park. He ate a fry then took sip of his drink while the tv played some old sitcom in the background.

He would keep on the best way he knew how.


End file.
